A referendum about what? About the right of Crown Prince Alois, regent of Liechtenstein, to veto the results of their referendums.

Slow down. This is all getting very Lewis Carroll. Who is this Crown Prince Alois? He's the son of the head of state, Prince Hans-Adam II, and the country's most powerful man, able to veto referendums, ignore or dissolve parliament, appoint and sack judges and generally swan about doing exactly as he likes.

Isn't that like turkeys voting to have no further involvement in the "Christmas/No Christmas" debate? Perhaps. But then think about what actually would have happened if they'd voted No.

Something sane? Think harder.

Oh. The prince would have just vetoed it, wouldn't he? Quite possibly. Or, as the royal family has threatened in the past, he would have packed up his family's things – including their enormously wealthy royal banking firm LGT – and left the country.

Because? Because foreign money brought in by the royal family's financial wizardry – including an estimated £3bn of secret accounts held by British taxpayers – pays for just about everything the country has. Liechtenstein's average annual income per person is a little over $140,000.

Wow. See why they don't mind being powerless quite so much now?

I do. Now shut up about voting and help me pack! Yes, Your Highness.

Do say: "If turkeys were making that kind of money, they'd vote for Christmas too."

Don't say: "But they'd still be turkeys."

• This article was corrected on 4 July 2012 to delete a reference to LGT employing 5% of the country's population. In fact it employs a workforce equivalent to 5% of the country's population around the world.